Dean Maki, a 1983 graduate of Forest Lake High School, works in New York City as chief U.S. economist for Barclay's Capital, one of the top investment banks on Wall Street.

In 2009 he was named by Bloomberg News as the s most accurate economic forecaster in the nation, and he makes frequent appearances on CNN and other news networks to give insight into the financial world and to project trends that may be useful to investors.

The youngest of six children, Dean attended both Forest View and Columbus Elementary schools, then went on to Central Junior High and then to Forest Lake High School. His father, Franklin, was a counselor at Central Junior High School and his mother, Ellen, was a homemaker. Dean played goalie on the Forest Lake boys' hockey team and, after graduation from high school in 1983, went on to play hockey at the St. Olaf College.

Dean graduated from St. Olaf in 1987 with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. He then went on to earn a Fullbright Scholarship, allowing him to spend a year in Finland studying Finnish-Soviet trade. Following his Fullbright Scholarship, he went back to graduate school to earn his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.

Dean then spent two years working as an investment banking analyst at Norwest Bank in Minneapolis before landing a position as a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank. During his time at the "Fed", Dean had opportunities to work closely with then-chairman Alan Greenspan. Dean later took a position as vice president of economic research with JP Morgan Chase, and then moved over to Barclays Capital in 2005, where he became the company's chief U.S. economist.

To read more about Dean Maki, check out articles about him that have appeared in St. Olaf Magazine, in the Forest Lake Times and in our own Connections Newsletter.

Dean Maki
Class of 1983

Hometown: Forest Lake, MN

Parents: Franklin & Ellen Maki

Current Residence: West Chester, NY

Spouse: Wife, Jody

Children: Daughter, Alina, and son, Ari

Attended: